In the Classical era, part of the territory of present-day Tehran was occupied by Rhages, a prominent Median city.[8] It was subject to destruction through the medieval Arab, Turkic, and Mongol invasions. Its modern-day inheritor remains as an urban area absorbed into the metropolitan area of Greater Tehran.

Tehran was first chosen as the capital of Iran by Agha Mohammad Khan of the Qajar dynasty in 1796, in order to remain within close reach of Iran's territories in the Caucasus, before being separated from Iran as a result of the Russo-Iranian Wars, and to avoid the vying factions of the previously ruling Iranian dynasties. The capital has been moved several times throughout the history, and Tehran is the 32nd national capital of Iran. Large scale demolition and rebuilding began in the 1920s, and Tehran has been a destination for mass migrations from all over Iran since the 20th century.[9]

October 6 is marked as Tehran Day based on a 2016 decision by members of the City Council, celebrating the day when the city was officially chosen as the capital of Iran by the Qajar dynasty back in 1907.[16]

The origin of the name Tehran is uncertain. Prior to Tehran being the capital of Iran Isfahan was the capital. Isfahan has a significant Armenian Population.[17] The settlement of Tehran dates back over 7,000 years.[18]

Tehran is situated within the historical region of Media (Old Persian: 𐎶𐎠𐎭Māda) in northwestern Iran. By the time of the Median Empire, a part of the territory of present-day Tehran was a suburb of the prominent Median city of Rhages (Old Persian: 𐎼𐎥𐎠Ragā). In the Avesta's Videvdat (i, 15), Rhages is mentioned as the 12th sacred place created by Ohrmazd.[19] In Old Persian inscriptions, Rhages appears as a province (Bistun 2, 10–18). From Rhages, Darius I sent reinforcements to his father Hystaspes, who was putting down the rebellion in Parthia (Bistun 3, 1–10).[19] In some Middle Persian texts, Rhages is given as the birthplace of Zoroaster,[20] although modern historians generally place the birth of Zoroaster in Khorasan. Rhages's modern-day inheritor, Ray, is a city located towards the southern end of Tehran, which has been absorbed into the metropolitan area of Greater Tehran.

In the 9th century, Tehran was a well-known village, but less known than the city of Rhages, which was flourishing nearby. Rhages was described in detail by 10th-century Muslim geographers.[19] Despite the interest that Arabian Baghdad displayed in Rhages, the number of Arabs in the city remained insignificant and the population mainly consisted of Iranians of all classes.[19][22]

The Oghuz Turks invaded Rhages discretely in 1035 and 1042, but the city was recovered under the reigns of the Seljuks and the Khwarezmians.[19] Medieval writer Najm od Din Razi declared the population of Rhages about 500,000 before the Mongol invasion. In the 13th century, the Mongols invaded Rhages, laid the city in ruins, and massacred many of its inhabitants.[19] Following the invasion, many of the city's inhabitants escaped to Tehran.

In July 1404, Castilian ambassador Ruy González de Clavijo visited Tehran while on a journey to Samarkand, the capital of Turco-Mongol conqueror Timur, who ruled Iran at the time. In his diary, Tehran was described as an unwalled region.

Italian traveler Pietro della Valle passed through Tehran overnight in 1618, and in his memoirs, he mentioned the city as Taheran. English traveler Thomas Herbert entered Tehran in 1627, and mentioned it as Tyroan. Herbert stated that the city had about 3,000 houses.[23]

In the early 18th century, Karim Khan of the Zand dynasty ordered a palace and a government office to be built in Tehran, possibly to declare the city his capital; but he later moved his government to Shiraz. Eventually, Qajar king Agha Mohammad Khan chose Tehran as the capital of Iran in 1786.[24]

Agha Mohammad Khan's choice of his capital was based on a similar concern for the control of both northern and southern Iran.[24] He was aware of the loyalties of the inhabitants of former capitals Isfahan and Shiraz to the Safavid and Zand dynasties respectively, and was wary of the power of the local notables in these cities.[24] Thus, he probably viewed Tehran's lack of a substantial urban structure as a blessing, because it minimized the chances of resistance to his rule by the notables and by the general public.[24] Moreover, he had to remain within close reach of Azerbaijan and Iran's integral northern and southernCaucasian territories[24]—at that time not yet irrevocably lost per the treaties of Golestan and Turkmenchay to the neighboring Russian Empire—which would follow in the course of the 19th century.[25]

Map of Tehran in 1857

After 50 years of Qajar rule, the city still barely had more than 80,000 inhabitants.[24] Up until the 1870s, Tehran consisted of a walled citadel, a roofed bazaar, and the three main neighborhoods of Udlajan, Chale-Meydan, and Sangelaj, where the majority resided.

The first development plan of Tehran in 1855 emphasized the traditional spatial structure. Architecture, however, found an eclectic expression to reflect the new lifestyle. The second major planning exercise in Tehran took place under the supervision of Dar ol Fonun. The 1878 plan of Tehran included new city walls, in the form of a perfect octagon with an area of 19 square kilometers, which mimicked the Renaissance cities of Europe.[26]

The growing social awareness of civil rights resulted in the Constitutional Revolution and the first constitution of Iran in 1906. On June 2, 1907, the parliament passed a law on local governance known as the Baladie (municipal law), providing a detailed outline on issues such as the role of councils within the city, the members' qualifications, the election process, and the requirements to be entitled to vote. The then Qajar monarch Mohammad Ali Shah abolished the constitution and bombarded the parliament with the help of the Russian-controlled Cossack Brigade on June 23, 1908. That followed the capture of the city by the revolutionary forces of Ali-Qoli Khan (Sardar Asad II) and Mohammad Vali Khan (Sepahsalar e Tonekaboni) on July 13, 1909. As a result, the monarch was exiled and replaced with his son Ahmad, and the parliament was re-established.

After World War I, the constituent assembly elected Reza Shah of the Pahlavi dynasty as the new monarch, who immediately suspended the Baladie law of 1907, replacing the decentralized and autonomous city councils with centralist approaches of governance and planning.[26]

From the 1920s to the 1930s, under the rule of Reza Shah, the city was essentially rebuilt from scratch. That followed a systematic demolition of several old buildings, including parts of the Golestan Palace, Tekye Dowlat, and Tupkhane Square, which were replaced with modern buildings influenced by classical Iranian architecture, particularly the building of the National Bank, the Police Headquarters, the Telegraph Office, and the Military Academy.

The changes in urban fabric started with the street-widening act of 1933, which served as a framework for changes in all other cities. The Grand Bazaar was divided in half and many historic buildings were demolished to be replaced with wide straight avenues.[27] As a result, the traditional texture of the city was replaced with intersecting cruciform streets that created large roundabouts, located on major public spaces such as the bazaar.

As an attempt to create a network for easy transportation within the city, the old citadel and city walls were demolished in 1937, replaced by wide streets cutting through the urban fabric. The new city map of Tehran in 1937 was heavily influenced by modernist planning patterns of zoning and gridiron networks.[26]

The establishment of the planning organization of Iran in 1948 resulted in the first socio-economic development plan to cover from 1949 to 1955. These plans not only failed to slow the unbalanced growth of Tehran, but with the 1962 land reforms that Reza Shah's son and successor Mohammad Reza Shah named the White Revolution, Tehran's chaotic growth was further accentuated.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Tehran was rapidly developing under the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah. Modern buildings altered the face of Tehran and ambitious projects were envisioned for the following decades. In order to resolve the problem of social exclusion, the first comprehensive plan of Tehran was approved in 1968. The consortium of Iranian architect Abd-ol-Aziz Farmanfarmaian and the American firm of Victor Gruen Associates identified the main problems blighting the city to be high density suburbs, air and water pollution, inefficient infrastructure, unemployment, and rural-urban migration. Eventually, the whole plan was marginalized by the 1979 Revolution and the subsequent Iran–Iraq War.[26]

During the 1980–1988 Iran–Iraq War, Tehran was the target of repeated Scud missile attacks and air strikes.

The 435-meter-high Milad Tower, which was part of the proposed development projects in pre-revolutionary Iran,[28] was completed in 2007, and has thence become a famous landmark of Tehran. The 270-meter pedestrian overpass of Tabiat Bridge is a newly-built landmark,[10] designed by award winning architect Leila Araghian, which was completed in 2014.

The metropolis of Tehran is divided into 22 municipal districts, each with its own administrative center. 20 of the 22 municipal districts are located in Tehran County's Central District, while the districts 1 and 20 are respectively located in the counties of Shemiranat and Ray. Although administratively separate, the cities of Ray and Shemiran are often considered part of Greater Tehran.

Because the city is large with significant differences in elevation among various districts, the weather is often cooler in the hilly north than in the flat southern part of Tehran. For instance, the 17.3 km (10.7 mi) Valiasr Street runs from Tehran's railway station at 1,117 m (3,665 ft) elevation above sea level in the south of the city to Tajrish Square at 1712.6 m (5612.3 ft) elevation above sea level in the north.[32] However, the elevation can even rise up to 2,000 m (6,600 ft) at the end of Velenjak in northern Tehran.

Summer is long, hot, and dry with little rain, but relative humidity is generally low, making the heat tolerable. Average high temperatures are between 32 and 41 °C (90 and 106 °F), and it can drop to 14 °C in the mountainous north of the city at night. Most of the light annual precipitation occurs from late autumn to mid-spring, but no one month is particularly wet. The hottest month is July, with a mean minimum temperature of 33 °C (91 °F) and a mean maximum temperature of 38 °C (100 °F), and the coldest is January, with a mean minimum temperature of −5 °C (23 °F) and a mean maximum temperature of 1 °C (34 °F).[33]

The weather of Tehran can sometimes be unpredictably harsh. The record high temperature is 43 °C (109 °F) and the record low is −20 °C (−4 °F). On January 5 and 6, 2008, a wave of heavy snow and low temperatures covered the city in a thick layer of snow and ice, forcing the Council of Ministers to officially declare a state of emergency and close down the capital on January 6 and 7.[34]

Tehran has seen an increase in relative humidity and annual precipitation since the beginning of the 21st century. This is most likely because of the afforestation projects, which also include expanding parks and lakes. The northern parts of Tehran are still more lush than the southern parts.

In February 2005, heavy snow covered all of the parts of the city. Snow depth was 15 cm (6 in) in the southern part of the city and 100 cm (39 in) in the northern part of city. A newspaper said it had been the worst weather for 34 years. 10,000 bulldozers and 13,000 municipal workers deployed to keep the main roads open.[37][38]

On February 3, 2014, Tehran reached a heavy snowfall, specifically in the northern parts of the city, with a height of 2 meters. Within one week successive snowfall, roads were made impassable in some areas along with a temperature variety of −8 °C to −16 °C.[39]

On June 3, 2014, a severe thunderstorm with powerful microbursts created a haboob that engulfed the city in sand and dust. Five people were killed and more than 57 injured. This disaster also knocked numerous trees and power lines down. It struck between 5 and 6 pm, plumping temperatures from 33 °C to 19 °C in just an hour. The dramatic temperature drop was accompanied by wind gusts reaching nearly 118 km/h.[40]

A plan to move the capital has been discussed many times in prior years, due mainly to the environmental issues of the region. Tehran is rated as one of the world's most polluted cities, and is also located near two major fault lines.

In 2010, the government announced that "for security and administrative reasons, the plan to move the capital from Tehran has been finalized."[43] There are plans to relocate 163 state firms and several universities from Tehran to avoid damages from a potential earthquake.[43][44]

The officials are engaged in a battle to reduce air pollution. It has, for instance, encouraged taxis and buses to convert from petrol engines to engines that run on compressed natural gas. Furthermore, the government has set up a "Traffic Zone" covering the city center during peak traffic hours. Entering and driving inside this zone is only allowed with a special permit.

There have also been plans to raise people's awareness about the hazards of the pollution. One method that is currently being employed is the installation of Pollution Indicator Boards all around the city to monitor the current level of particulate matter (PM10), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), ozone (O3), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and carbon monoxide (CO).

The city of Tehran has a population of approximately 10 million in 2016.[45] With its cosmopolitan atmosphere, Tehran is home to diverse ethnic and linguistic groups from all over the country. The present-day dominant language of Tehran is the Tehrani variety of the Persian language, and the majority of people in Tehran identify themselves as Persians.[12][11] However, before, the native language of the Tehran–Ray region was not Persian, which is linguistically Southwest Iranian and originates in Fars, but a now extinct Northwestern Iranian language.[46]

According to a 2010 census conducted by the Sociology Department of the University of Tehran, in many districts of Tehran across various socio-economic classes in proportion to population sizes of each district and socio-economic class, 63% of the people were born in Tehran, 98% knew Persian, 75% identified themselves as ethnic Persian, and 13% had some degree of proficiency in a European language.[11]

Tehran saw a drastic change in its ethno-social composition in the early 1980s. After the political, social, and economic consequences of the 1979 Revolution and the years that followed, a number of Iranian citizens, mostly Tehranis, left Iran. The majority of Iranian emigrations have left for the United States, Germany, Sweden, and Canada.

With the start of the Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988), a second wave of inhabitants fled the city, especially during the Iraqi air offensives on the capital. With most major powers backing Iraq at the time, economic isolation gave yet more reason for many inhabitants to leave the city (and the country). Having left all they had and having struggled to adapt to a new country and build a life, most of them never came back when the war was over. During the war, Tehran also received a great number of migrants from the west and the southwest of the country bordering Iraq.

The unstable situation and the war in neighboring Afghanistan and Iraq prompted a rush of refugees into the country who arrived in their millions, with Tehran being a magnet for many seeking work, who subsequently helped the city to recover from war wounds, working for far less pay than local construction workers. Many of these refugees are being repatriated with the assistance of the UNHCR, but there are still sizable groups of Afghan and Iraqi refugees in Tehran who are reluctant to leave, being pessimistic about the situation in their own countries. Afghan refugees are mostly Dari-speaking Tajik and Hazara, speaking a variety of Persian, and Iraqi refugees are mainly Mesopotamian Arabic-speakers who are often of Iranian heritage.

Tehran is the economic center of Iran.[52] About 30% of Iran's public-sector workforce and 45% of its large industrial firms are located in the city, and almost half of these workers are employed by the government.[53] Most of the remainder of workers are factory workers, shopkeepers, laborers, and transport workers.

Few foreign companies operate in Tehran, due to the government's complex international relations. But prior to the 1979 Revolution, many foreign companies were active in Iran.[54] Tehran's present-day modern industries include the manufacturing of automobiles, electronics and electrical equipment, weaponry, textiles, sugar, cement, and chemical products. It is also a leading center for the sale of carpets and furniture. The oil refining companies of Pars Oil, Speedy, and Behran are based in Tehran.

Most of the international branded stores and upper-class shops are located in the northern and western parts of the city. Tehran's retail business is growing with several newly-built malls and shopping centers.[56]

Tehran, as one of the main tourist destinations in Iran, has a wealth of cultural attractions. It is home to royal complexes of Golestan, Saadabad and Niavaran, which were built under the reign of the country's last two monarchies.

According to the head of Tehran Municipality's Environment and Sustainable Development Office, Tehran was designed to have a capacity of about 300,000 cars, but currently more than five million cars are on the roads.[59] The automation industry has recently developed, but international sanctions influence the production processes periodically.[60]

According to local media, Tehran has more than 200,000 taxis plying the roads daily,[61] with several types of taxi available in the city. Airport taxis have a higher cost per kilometer as opposed to regular green and yellow taxis in the city.

Buses have served the city since the 1920s. Tehran's transport system includes conventional buses, trolleybuses, and bus rapid transit (BRT). The city's four major bus stations include the South Terminal, the East Terminal, the West Terminal, and the northcentral Beyhaghi Terminal.

The trolleybus system was opened in 1992, using a fleet of 65 articulated trolleybuses built by Czechia's Škoda.[62] This was the first trolleybus system in Iran.[62] In 2005, trolleybuses were operating on five routes, all starting at Imam Hossein Square.[63] Two routes running northeastwards operate almost entirely in a segregated busway located in the middle of the wide carriageway along Damavand Street, stopping only at purpose-built stops located about every 500 metres along the routes, effectively making these routes trolleybus-BRT (but they are not called such). The other three trolleybus routes run south and operate in mixed-traffic. Both route sections are served by limited-stop services and local (making all stops) services.[63] A 3.2-kilometer extension from Shoosh Square to Rah Ahan Square was opened in March 2010.[64]

Tehran's bus rapid transit (BRT) was officially inaugurated in 2008. It has 10 lines with some 215 stations in different areas of the city. As of 2011[update], the BRT system had a network of 100 kilometres (62 miles), transporting 1.8 million passengers on a daily basis. The city has also developed a bicycle sharing system that includes 12 hubs in one of Tehran's districts.[65]

Tehran is served by the international airports of Mehrabad and Khomeini. Mehrabad Airport, an old airport in western Tehran that doubles as a military base, is mainly used for domestic and charter flights. Khomeini Airport, located 50 kilometres (31 miles) south of the city, handles the main international flights.

There are over 2,100 parks within the metropolis of Tehran,[66] with one of the oldest being Jamshidie Park, which was first established as a private garden for Qajar prince Jamshid Davallu, and was then dedicated to the last empress of Iran, Farah Pahlavi. The total green space within Tehran stretches over 12,600 hectares, covering over 20 percent of the city's area. The Parks and Green Spaces Organization of Tehran was established in 1960, and is responsible for the protection of the urban nature present in the city.[67]

Tehran's Birds Garden is the largest bird park of Iran. There is also a zoo located on the Tehran–Karaj Expressway, housing over 290 species within an area of about five hectares.[68]

Since the establishment of Dar ol Fonun by the order of Amir Kabir in the mid-19th century, Tehran has amassed a large number of institutions of higher education. Some of these institutions have played crucial roles in the unfolding of Iranian political events. Samuel M. Jordan, whom Jordan Avenue in Tehran was named after, was one of the founding pioneers of the American College of Tehran, which was one of the first modern high schools in the Middle East.

Tehran only had a small population until the late 18th century, but began to take a more considerable role in Iranian society after it was chosen as the capital city. Despite the regular occurrence of earthquakes during the Qajar period and after, some historic buildings have remained from that era.[70]

Tehran is Iran's primate city, and is considered to have the most modernized infrastructure in the country. However, the gentrification of old neighborhoods and the demolition of buildings of cultural significance has caused concerns.[71]

Previously a low-rise city due to seismic activity in the region, modern high rise developments in Tehran have been built in recent decades in order to service its growing population. There have been no major quakes in Tehran since 1830.[72]

Tehran's International Tower is the tallest residential building in Iran. It is a 54-story building located in the northern district of Yusef Abad.

Under the reign of the Qajars, Tehran was home to the royal theater of Tekye Dowlat, located to the southeast of the Golestan Palace, in which traditional and religious performances were observed. It was eventually destroyed and replaced with a bank building in 1947, following the reforms under the reign of Reza Shah.

Before the 1979 Revolution, the Iranian national stage had become the most famous performing scene for known international artists and troupes in the Middle East,[75] with the Roudaki Hall of Tehran constructed to function as the national stage for opera and ballet. The hall was inaugurated in October 1967, named after prominent Persian poet Rudaki. It is home to the Tehran Symphony Orchestra, the Tehran Opera Orchestra, and the Iranian National Ballet Company.

The City Theater of Tehran, one of Iran's biggest theater complexes which contains several performance halls, was opened in 1972. It was built at the initiative and presidency of empress Farah Pahlavi, and was designed by architect Ali Sardar Afkhami, constructed within five years.

Tochal's resort is the world's fifth highest ski resort at over 3,730 meters (12,240 feet) above sea level at its highest point. It is also the world's nearest ski resort to a capital city. The resort was opened in 1976, shortly before the 1979 Revolution. It is equipped with an 8-kilometre-long (5 mi) gondola lift that covers a huge vertical distance.[78] There are two parallel chair ski lifts in Tochal that reach 3,900 meters (12,800 feet) high near Tochal's peak (at 4,000 m/13,000 ft), rising higher than the gondola's 7th station, which is higher than any of the European ski resorts. From the Tochal peak, there are views of the Alborz range, including the 5,610-metre-high (18,406 ft) Mount Damavand, a dormant volcano.

There are many restaurants and cafes in Tehran, both modern and classic, serving both Iranian and cosmopolitan cuisine. Pizzerias, sandwich bars, and kebab shops make up the majority of food shops in Tehran.[83]

Many styles of graffiti are seen in Tehran. Some are mainly political and revolutionary slogans painted by governmental organizations,[84] and some are works of art by ordinary citizens, representing their views on both social and political issues. However, unsanctioned street art is forbidden in Iran,[84] and such works are usually short-lived.

In recent years, Tehran Municipality has been using graffiti in order to beautify the city. Several graffiti festivals have also taken place in Tehran, including the one organized by the Tehran University of Art in October 2014.[86]

^Erdösy, George. (1995). The Indo-Aryans of ancient South Asia: Language, material culture and ethnicity. Walter de Gruyter. p. 165. Possible western place names are the following: Raya-, which is also the ancient name of Median Raga in the Achaemenid inscriptions (Darius, Bisotun 2.13: a land in Media called Raga) and modern Rey south of Tehran

Tehran Province

Tehran Province is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It covers an area of 18,909 square kilometres (7,301 sq mi) and is located to the north of the central plateau of Iran.

Rey, Iran

Rey or Ray, also known as Rhages and formerly as Arsacia, is the capital of Rey County in Tehran Province of Iran, and the oldest existing city in the province.

Isfahan

Isfahan is a city in Iran. It is located 406 kilometres south of Tehran, and is the capital of Isfahan Province.

Reza Shah

Reza Shah Pahlavi, commonly known as Reza Shah, was the Shah of Iran from 15 December 1925 until he was forced to abdicate by the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran on 16 September 1941.

Golestan Palace

The Golestan Palace is the former royal Qajar complex in Iran's capital city, Tehran.

Qazvin Province

The Qazvin Province is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. It is in the north-west of the country, and its center is the city of Qazvin. The province was created in 1993 out of part of Tehran Province. The counties of Qazvin Province are Qazvin County, Takestan County, Abyek County, Buin Zahra County, Mobarakeh County, Alborz County & Avaj County. The largest cities are Qazvin, Takestan, Abyek, Alvand, Iran, Bidestan, Mobarakeh, Mohammadiyeh & Eqbaliyeh.

Qom Province

Qom Province, pre-Islamic Komishan/Qomishan, is one of the 31 provinces of Iran with 11,237 km², covering 0.89% of the total area in Iran. It is in the northern portion of the country, and its provincial capital is the city of Qom. It was formed from part of Tehran Province in 1995. In 2011, this province had a population of 1,151,672 out of which 95.2% resided in urban areas and 4.8% in rural vicinities. The province contains the cities of Qom, Jafariyeh, Dastjerd, Kahak, Qanavat & Salafchegan. Qom County is the sole county of the province.

Milad Tower

Milad Tower, also known as the Tehran Tower, is a multi-purpose tower in Tehran, Iran. It is the sixth-tallest tower and the 24th-tallest freestanding structure in the world.

Ahvaz

Ahvaz is a city in the southwest of Iran and the capital of Khuzestan province. Ahvaz's population is about 1,300,000 and its built-up area with the nearby town of Sheybani is home to 1,136,989 inhabitants. It is home to Persians, Arabs, Lurs (Bakhtiaris), Dezfulis, Shushtaris, etc. and different languages are spoken in it, such as Persian, Arabic, the Persian dialects of Luri (Bakhtiari), Dezfuli, Shushtari, etc.

Qajar dynasty

The Qajar dynasty was an Iranian royal dynasty of Turkic origin, specifically from the Qajar tribe, which ruled Persia (Iran) from 1789 to 1925. The state ruled by the dynasty was officially known as the Sublime State of Persia. The Qajar family took full control of Iran in 1794, deposing Lotf 'Ali Khan, the last Shah of the Zand dynasty, and re-asserted Iranian sovereignty over large parts of the Caucasus. In 1796, Mohammad Khan Qajar seized Mashhad with ease, putting an end to the Afsharid dynasty, and Mohammad Khan was formally crowned as Shah after his punitive campaign against Iran's Georgian subjects. In the Caucasus, the Qajar dynasty permanently lost many of Iran's integral areas to the Russians over the course of the 19th century, comprising modern-day Georgia, Dagestan, Azerbaijan and Armenia.

Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar

Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar, also known by his regnal name of Agha Mohammad Shah, was the founder of the Qajar dynasty of Iran, ruling from 1789 to 1797 as king (shah). Originally chieftain of the Qoyunlu branch of the Qajar tribe, Agha Mohammad Khan was enthroned as the king of Iran in 1789, but was not officially crowned until March 1796, having deposed Lotf Ali Khan of the Zand dynasty in 1794. Agha Mohammad Khan Qajar was famously the eunuch Monarch, being castrated as a young adult upon his capture by Adel Shah Afshar, and hence was childless. On June 17, 1797, he was assassinated, and was succeeded by his nephew, Fath-Ali Shah Qajar.

Amol

Amol is a city and the administrative center of Amol County, Mazandaran Province, Iran. In the 2006 census, the surveyed population of the city was 197,470, in 55,183 families.

Azadi Square

Azadi Square, formerly known as Shahyad Square, is a mainly green city square in Tehran, Iran. It hosts as its centerpiece the Azadi Tower. The tower and square were commissioned by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last Shah of Iran, to mark the 2,500th year of the foundation of the Imperial State of Iran.

Birjand

Birjand is the capital of the Iranian province of South Khorasan. The city is known for its saffron, barberry, jujube, and handmade carpet exports.
Birjand had a population of 187,020 in 2013.

Elahieh

Elahieh is an affluent and upper-class district in northern Tehran.
The area is a residential and commercial locale and is filled with the homes and businesses of many politicians, diplomats, expatriates, and artists.

Persian Constitutional Revolution

The Persian Constitutional Revolution, also known as the Constitutional Revolution of Iran, took place between 1905 and 1911. The revolution led to the establishment of a parliament in Persia (Iran) during the Qajar dynasty.

Tourism in Tehran

Tehran is one of Iran's leading tourism destinations, and the city is home to an array of famous tourist attractions. In 2016, Tehran received 1.64 million foreign tourists. There are several artistic, historic and scientific museums in Tehran, including the National Museum of Iran, and the Carpet Museum. There is also the Museum of Contemporary Art, which hosts works of artists such as Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso and Van Gogh.